After dealing with the wayward student Shura more work ahead of him. The two pops resonated once more like it did moments ago. He began to wave the pop around looking for a stronger signal. The soul candy began to vibrate as he pointed it in the right direction. This led him back through the back alleys. It was not long before he emerged out of the dark alleys onto the main roads. People were walking around without a care in the world. He was not sure if these people were aware of the underbelly of the city. Or if they were aware but did not think to entertain the idea of the darkness lurking. It was only human nature to want to deal with their own issues and not get caught up in trouble. Most people just wanted to be left alone, who could really blame them? Especially those who did not possess the will or need to fight. There were people who existed for that.

Walking out of the alleyway he stood on the sidewalk across from a bank. One of the many banks that governed the funds of Oak. Shura looked around once again with the lollipops. A man was sitting on the bench looking at the bank. He was staring at it, burning a hole in the building. As if he was reimagining something that has happened long ago. Shura walked over to the man sitting on the bench to his left. The man was also transparent. Another soul had presented itself and he knew what to do. Shura sat next to the individual, not too close of course because that would have just been weird.

There was at least enough room for someone to sit between them. The man was dressed in a tan suit and crimson tie. He wore a white undershirt but something was off. His eye were drawn to bullet holes all over his body, looked like exit wounds how the fabric was torn outward. Shura looked around and saw people walking past the two. They must have not noticed the ghostly man sitting on the bench. No doubt it had to be the power of the lollipops that he had in hand. So no doubt others were out in fiore doing the same thing.

Shura leaned back on the bench and just asked a simple question. “So what is your story?” The man said nothing at first, he looked over with a lost look. He had it built up in his head that no one could see him. The normal folks were unable to interact with him. He looked around again, confused at this individual asking him suddenly. “You can see me?”

“I just asked you a question didn’t I?” Shura responded.

The man gave a nod and looked at the bank once more. He let out a sigh and explained his story slowly. “The name is Emmett Jackson, as you can see I am dead. I worked the bank we are looking at. Hard worker, good looks and I did everything asked of me. I was up for a promotion, but of course it is never that easy. Criminals came in robbed the bank, hostages were taken and lives were in danger. I tried to play the hero and paid the ultimate price for it.”

Shura admired that about some people. Being selfless like that was respectable, stupid at times but it was just in some people’s nature to do it. “The choices we make are what we must live with. You made a good choice in a bad situation.”

“Yet those monsters are still roaming around free. They killed me and few others. Steal the money and get away scott free. The Rune Knights investigated but it became a cold case too quickly,” Emmett explained.

Shura leaned forward, a bit agitated by hearing that. It showed that the corruption that existed within the Rune Knights were deeply rooted. Emmett was right, cases don’t just go cold like that. They must have had their pockets lined to stay out of it. By doing so innocence was lost for no reason. Shura wanted to speak but Emmett spoke up first. “I know where they are at.”

“You read my mind my friend.”

The two got up from the bench and Shura followed Emmett. They headed towards the outskirts of town looking for the hideout of these men. Even if the Rune Knights were paid off not all of them could be bought. They had to lay low until the heat died down. Emmett led Shura to a abandoned house in a old district of Oak. A place filled with drug users and people too poor to live in the main areas.

“It’s that house, everyone in there is guilty.”

Shura nodded and responded, “It’s funny, know that saying what goes around comes around?” He left Emmett behind and proceeded to the front of the house. He clenched his hand and opened it suddenly. Thousands of small bug like creatures began to flood the area. He pointed and the bugs funneled through the keyhole and cracks in the windows. Small bugs that served as extrasensory for Shura. They quickly identified four men in the house. Two were in the kitchen sitting at the table. One was taking a shit, and the other was counting money in the living room. Shura tapped his side where his left arm used to be. The azure arm materialized and shaped itself. He knocked on the door two times loudly. Shura waited for a response, the fireflies stuck to the ceiling and continued to feed him information.

The men inside look at each other with a confused look, the head goon spoke up. He was sitting at the table and looked at the individual across the table. “Go see who it is.”

“Why me?”

The head goon gave the individual a look and the man stood up from the table. “Alright alright i got it, shit man.” The head goon went back to reading the paper. Shura was waiting at the door, for someone to answer. The door opened up because the lack of a peephole. “Yea what do you want?”

Shura straightened his back up and nodded. “I am here to spread the word of the Illumin.”

“Uh huh,” The man looked back, “Oi it’s some freak from the church!”

“We aren’t interested!” The boss yelled back. The guy looked back and went to speak but only felt the impact of a hand on his neck. Shura’s right hand gripped the man’s throat and lifted him off the ground with raw strength. The man gasped for air and the ruckus caused the head goon to peak around the corner. “What the f…” He reached for his gun quickly and pulled it out. “Put Mack down you asshole!”

“Drop your weapon first.”

Too his left Shura saw out of his peripheral view the guy watching something stand up from behind the couch with a machine gun type weapon. Shura used his left and fired it at the guy brandishing five clawed fingers. He figured with his left exposed the guy could fire wildly but he beat him to the punch. The clawed fingers dug into his face, and with the force behind the fired limb the man was swept off his feet. He dropped his weapon in the process, screaming at the searing pain he was feeling at that moment. Shura could tune up and down the flames in his magical arm at will. He turned the heat up to max causing extreme pain all over the man’s face. A slow painful death awaited him. “You son of a bitch!” The boss screamed and fired his magical pistol a few times. Shura used the body of the choking man as a shield. The man’s body twitched as the bullets pierced his body. They weren’t strong enough to punch through the muscle tissue and bone. The man went to reload his weapon but all it did was create a opening. Shura dropped the body and pointed a index finger at the man's head.

A beam fired from his finger tip, moving at twenty meters a second. A nickel sized beam pierced causing the man’s head to kick back suddenly. Just like that three lives were taken in an instant. This was Shura’s idea of justice, a swift punishment to those who deserved it. The man’s body fell limp onto the ground. The man in the living room was still pinned to the wall, his face being reduced to nothing with each passing second. He suffered the most, it was unfortunate really, maybe he shouldn’t have jumped the gun like that. There was one more but he didn’t move, he was so terrified of the action that just went down he sat there silent. He heard footsteps walking through the house. Shura stood in front of the door, he drove his clawed hand through the door and ripped it clean off the hinges.

The man no, a teenager frozen with fear. The rest of his bowels emptied at that moment. Shura was dying of laughter inside but he kept a straight face. He was able to hide his slow smile behind the mask he wore. He jumped at the kid, which in return made him flinch. “Jesus you are nothing but a child.”

“Please don’t kill me I haven’t killed anyone I am just the look out. Please!” The boy began to cry hysterically while still on the toilet. He was pitiful, but justice still needed to be done. A idea popped in his head. “So, I will let you live, but you must go to the authorities and confess everything. Return the funds they stole and I will leave you alone. Otherwise I will hunt you down, hogtie you, kill everyone you hold dear and right when you have no will to live. I will feed you to the wildlife for a slow, and I mean slow death. Alright?”

The boy nodded in response, pulled his pants up. Shura stepped out of the way and waited at the front door. Emmett was sitting outside on the steps waiting for it all too unfold. The kid was gathering the large sacks of jewels they stole and getting ready to do what was told. Emmett looked inside of the house and saw the bodies laying everywhere. He began to fade as what he asked was done. Shura waved goodbye and caught the falling pops left by his release.

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